"You + God = A Majority"

Genesis 12:1-8 - (1) Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; (2) And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; (3) And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." 

(4) So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (5) Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. (6) Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. (7) The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.

(8) Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD.

Heard on the radio today, from Alistair Begg:

 

"Faith is a one-way ticket."

 

"One plus God equals a majority."

 

"Hold on lightly to the things we can see and tightly to the things we cannot see."

 

Pastor Begg was teaching on Abram and compared his obedience with that of Moses.  More of us are like Moses than Abram.  Most of us will question the Creator rather than, in faith, obey Him.  Some interesting comments were made...notice how Abram took everything when he left Heran.  As if to indicate his leaving was permanent...he wasn't planning to come back for anything.  Also, Abram pitched a tent (non permanent) and built an altar to the LORD (permanent).

 

Abram was called by God to obey Him and do what He commanded him to do.  Sure, Abram stumbled quite a bit along the way.  But God proved His faithfulness and kept His covenant with Abram, who eventually became Abraham and the patriarch of the Nation of Israel.

 

Read what Hebrews has to say about Abraham,  Hebrews 11:8-10 (8) By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. (9) By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; (10) for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

 

God calls us to salvation.  Like the following PW devo discusses, that is just the beginning of our faith journey with Jesus.

 

This world is NOT our home.  Let loose the trappings of this world and cling tightly to Jesus.
 

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

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I'm a Christian; Now What? Posted: 25 Jun 2009 01:36 PM PDT "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him." (Colossians 2:6) The idea in this verse is both simple and profound. In delivering to his readers -- and us -- what we need to know about Jesus, Paul answers the question we often ask: I'm a Christian; now what? At least, it's the question we should be asking. Instead, I think a lot of us unconsciously think, "I'm a Christian. Now let me get on with my life." Paul will tell us today and tomorrow that God intends that "getting on with your life" be just as much about Jesus as becoming a Christian was in the first place. My pastor puts it this way: The wedding isn't the end of the relationship; it's only the first day. Becoming a Christian is the start of living in Christ, not just the end of our search for God. If your life isn't all about growing in Christ, it's not all it could be. Think: Why do you think so many Christians see Jesus as the gate to eternal life but not the path through this one? Pray: Ask God to help you to live in Christ just as you received Him. Do: Challenge your youth leader to define what it means to "live in Christ" in 25 words or less. Visit PlanetWisdom.com for more great resources!